Drone Videos of Sailboats

A paraw is a type of sailboat which is native to the Palawan province of the Philippines.  Developed organically as a form of waterborne transportation over many years, these double hull outriggers are extremely suitable to cruising between the numerous islands of the region.  Contributor Vincent Hurdequint used a drone to film these amazing sailboats plying the crystal blue waters of the South China Sea, providing us with a bird's eye view of a unique and highly native form of water transportation! 

Prepare to be swept away by this stunning drone video from Greenland, compliments of top contributor Brendon Dixon.  He journeyed from Iceland to eastern Greenland aboard the old fashioned sailing ship Arktika, and brought along a very modern piece of equipment to record the journey: a DJI Phantom 4 drone.  The result is absolutely spectacular.  Greenland is truly one of the last frontiers, and the bird's eye footage of the beautiful wooden ship navigating its iceberg fields will astound you.  

Contributor Jus Medic created this spectacular video of the world-class sailing scene off the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, which is essentially the southern portion of the country's coastline along the Adriatic Sea.  The video provides a bird's eye view of what is considered to be some of the finest recreational sailing waters anywhere in the world, a place of turquoise blue waters, gentle breezes, and many ports and beaches.  It includes footage of the islands of Hvar, Solta, Brac, Salmatia, and more.  

Kaneohe is the largest bay in the Hawaiian islands, sitting on the south shore of Oahu.  Because of the protection provided by the bay, it's become a major center of sailing, as well as other water sports activities.  In this video, contributor Skyhighhawaii uses a drone to create an unforgettable video of a catamaran sailing across the crystal waters of the bay.  The picture of the tilted craft sailing along the amazing light green sea is almost hypnotizing.

The Aegean Sea, an eastern extension of the Mediterranean Sea, is home to some of the finest sailing conditions in the world. With clear skies, beautiful islands dotted everywhere, crystal waters, and steady winds, sailors from around the world have flocked to these Greek and Turkish waters for many years.  In this video, Aerial Channel uses a drone to show the grandeur of a large sailing yacht plying these waters from an aerial perspective.  

Miami, Florida has a fantastic sailing scene, and is the site of many sailing races.  One of them is a catamaran race called M32 North America Up Top.  Here, the catamarans - two hulled boats built for speed - race up and down the Bay of Biscayne with the skyscrapers of Miami in the background.  Top contributor OneManOneDrone, who has made a specialty of aerially filming the Miami waterfront scenes, captures it all from a bird's eye perspective with this amazing video. 

Izmir is the largest city in Turkey's Aegean region and the third largest city in the country overall.   Among other roles, Izmir has emerged as the center of Turkey's sailing scene, which is one of the largest and most important in the world.  Contributor and pilot Burak BÜYÜKBAYRAKT used a drone to film the Arkas sailing race, which is held off the city's coastline every year.  It's a major event in the sailing world, and his video does an outstanding job of capturing the excitement which surrounds the competition.

The British Virgin Islands lie in the northern Caribbean Sea, with Puerto Rico to the west, the US Virgin Islands to the south, and Anguilla to the east.   While the islands are known for stunning beaches, the BVI's are probably best known as one of the most popular sailing spots in the Caribbean Sea and indeed in the entire world.  Contributor One Man_One Drone took his DJI Phantom 4 drone to the BVI's and created this stunning aerial tour of the island's magnificent mountains and flotillas of sailboats.  

Mediterranean has long been one of the most important bodies of water in the world for sailing.  That role has continued, long past the point where wind was the only form of propulsion.  While the Aegean Sea may be the site of the biggest sailboat concentrations, the French and Italian Riviera's are likely a close second.  In this video, contributor Gzhuravlev used a combination of drone and ground footage at a regatta to create a memorable look at the sailing scene in this part of the Mediterranean.

The French territory New Caledonia is less well known compared to other South Pacific spots such as Tahiti or Tonga.  Like most of the islands in the region, New Caledonia has some ideal sailing conditions, particularly for those who prefer calmer waters close to shore which  allow other activities such as stand-up-paddleboarding and scuba diving.  In this video, Martin_NC used a drone to record a weekend built around catamaran sailing at one of the island's beautiful lagoons. 

While gimbal-stabilized camera drones such as the DJI Phantoms have revolutionized the world of sailing, these quadcopters aren't suited to high speed sailing.  Even if they are fast enough to keep up with fast-moving sailboats, they aren't able to get shots like what you will see in this remarkable video by top contributor and first person view (FPV) pilot SFPV.  He used a GoPro mounted to a racing quadcopter to film some seriously insane catamaran sailing action on San Francisco Bay.  

Almost without question, the sailing capital of the USA's West Coast is the beach town of Newport Beach, California.  Situated about an hour's drive south of Los Angeles in Orange County, it is home to countless sailboats large and small and hosts many sailing and yachting events throughout the year.  In this drone video by Marty Mitchell, you'll get aerial coverage of a yacht race between Catalina Island and Newport.  The video was shot with two DJI Phantom 3 Professionals.